Scenes from a Vacation: Yosemite


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What I'm Doing: Getting Back in the Groove of Things


Radio silence from me for a week - could you bear it? (Don't answer that question...) You'll have to wait at least one more day before I get back in the ol' blog routine. Our California vacation was great -- my cousin's wedding was a beautiful affair and D and I had an incredible time in Yosemite with my family. I spent several hours uploading photos from my camera tonight; so if you're lucky, I may regale you with a vacay recap sometime later this week. Hold onto your seats! 
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Where I'm At: On Vacation


Oh, sweet, sweet vacation! How excited I am that you are finally here! D and I are headed to California tomorrow morning, where we will attend my cousin's wedding in Fresno and then head to Yosemite for a week with my family. I'm looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation (apart from the bit in which D and I are set to spend a night in the backcountry and hike Half Dome and/or Clouds Rest...). All this to say that posting will likely be light next week; please try to not miss me too much while I'm gone. : )
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What's For Dessert: Warm Fresh Peach Sauce over Vanilla Ice Cream


I was considering going to the gym this afternoon, but a couple of peaches in the fridge were calling their siren song, so I chose to make a warm peach sauce instead. Priorities! Though I chose to use my sauce as a topping for a (big) scoop of vanilla ice cream, I think it would make a great pancake or waffle sauce as well.

Warm Fresh Peach Sauce (printer-friendly version)
makes enough for 2-3 servings

1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 peaches, cut into 1" pieces (peeling is up to you; I peeled one and didn't peel the other)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Add the brown sugar and cornstarch to the water in a sauce pot and stir until both the sugar and cornstarch have dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add in the chopped peach pieces. Season with nutmeg and cinnamon and stir to combine.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the peach sauce comes to your preferred thickness.
4. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.
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What I'm Doing: Sweating It Out

It was quite toasty yesterday -- I think it got up to about 85 degrees in the house. So warm, in fact, that I made the executive decision to buy another fan for the home. Wild and crazy, I know. I even splurged and paid the extra $4 to get next-day delivery. Oh, how I love Amazon Prime!

Speaking of things I love, here's what's been on my radar of late:

{via}

1. Mad Men -- I am officially obsessed and I've even gotten D hooked on the Mad Men train. I started watching the show when the new season premiered this year; previously I had watched a few episodes here and there, but never managed to get hooked. Well, I am now officially hooked and can't stop watching. We joined the local Family Video (I know, how quaint, a video store!) and have been voraciously watching past seasons of the show. (Gotta love that we can rent a whole season for five days for less than $1.50!) We just finished Season One on Sunday, and to my dismay, someone had rented out season two, but when I checked yesterday, it was back in the store, so we are back on track with feeding our Mad Men love. It's been interesting, as I know a lot of stuff that has happened since I watched Season Five, but it's great getting to know all the backstory that I missed.

{via}

2. Summer Produce -- I cannot get enough of all the fresh summer produce that is in the grocery stores these days. I cannot even explain how happy I am that I can purchase organically-grown strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries at Golden Harvest. And the organically-grown peaches I picked up there last week were beyond sweet and delicious. I definitely purchased more than I needed for the peach kuchen I baked on Friday; I have my eyes on a warm peach topping recipe that I may need to make later today.


3. YMCA of the Northwoods -- Though I definitely miss my Just-Five-Blocks-Away gym in Philly, I am enjoying new classes at the Y. So far I've tried their spin class (a little less hard-core than I'm used to, but still a good workout), a women-only weights/circuit class, a hatha yoga class (way more low-key than I am used to/prefer), and a core/TRX class (which I loved and hope to make a regular part of my workout routine). Tonight I think I may give Zumba a whirl, though I have a feeling it may be a bit of a disaster given my extreme lack of coordination. We shall see! In the meantime, I'm searching for a new yoga studio -- I can't believe that after just three-months of once-a-week power vinyassa classes in Philly, I've totally gotten myself hooked on yoga. So far, I haven't had luck finding a vinyassa class here in Rhinelander, though there may be some more options in Wausau (albeit that's at least a 45-minute drive away). I may have to give home yoga workouts a whirl. I hear there are some good YouTube options.
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What's Baking: My Mom's Peach Kuchen


We're headed over to our friends' house for dinner tonight, and of course we couldn't go empty-hande, so I offered to make some sort of dessert. While at the local organic market this afternoon I spied a big pile of organic peaches and I decided to make my Mom's peach kuchen. What is a kuchen, you might ask? According to my quick Google search, "kuchen" is the German word for "cake," and comes in many different forms. This recipe features a cake-like bottom, fruit topping, and oatmeal-sugar topping. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you've got a delicious dessert!

Peach Kuchen (printer-friendly version)
makes 8-10 servings

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 cup organic skim milk
4-5 organic peaches, pitted and sliced

For the topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 9"x9" square baking dish. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Cut in the butter.
4. In a separate bowl, combine together the beaten egg and milk. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, and stir until well blended together.
5. Spoon the dough into the prepped baking dish and spread evenly to cover the bottom of the dish.
6. Cover the surface of the dough with overlapping fruit slices.
7. In a small bowl, combine together the sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in the butter.
8. Sprinkle the topping overtop the fruit slices.
9. Bake in the over for 35 minutes, or until the fruit is tender.
10. Serve warm or cooled with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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Made From Scratch: Hummingbird Nectar


The other day I spied a lone hummingbird flitting past the impatiens we have hanging on a hook outside the picture window in our main room, and I decided we needed to put up a hummingbird feeder, stat. While running errands the other day we picked up a simple hummingbird feeder at Home Depot. While we could also have bought some suspiciously-hued hummingbird nectar at the store, I figured I could make something a bit more natural at home. A quick search on The Hummingbird Society's website, and I found a simple recipe for the nectar. I just set up our feeder outside the window -- fingers crossed the little guys (and gals) flit by for a drink soon!

Hummingbird Nectar (printer-friendly version)
makes two cups

1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups spring water

1. Dissolve the sugar in the spring water.
2. Fill your nectar feeder with the sugar-water solution.
3. Store any remaining nectar in the fridge for up to one week.
4. Replace the nectar every four days or so; replace sooner if temperatures are over 90 degrees.

 (adapted from this recipe)
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What's For Dinner: Quesafajita with a Taco on the Side


Tonight D and I met at the Y for a core/TRX class -- let's just say that I may not be able to move tomorrow. Given our evening workout, neither of us wanted to slave over the kitchen stove for dinner. So, after getting our workout on, I headed to Trig's (the local grocery chain) to pick up a few items to make tacos/quesadillas/fajitas. My dinner plate consisted of a taco filled with rice, black beans, cheese, lettuce, and salsa. I also made an easy-peasy quesadilla filled with more cheese and black beans that I topped with fajita veggies, aka pan-sauteed red and yellow pepper strips, white onion strips, and a few random pea pods from the garden. A bit of a mess on the plate, but quite tasty.

Black Bean and Cheese Quesadilla (printer-friendly version)
makes one serving

2 flour tortillas
1/4 cup cooked black beans
1 tablespoon shredded cheese
olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place a flour tortilla on a baking sheet. Spread cheese and black beans over top of the tortilla.
3. Top with the second tortilla.
4. Brush with a light coating of olive oil.
5. Bake in the oven for five minutes, or until the cheese is melty. (Is that a word?) 
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What's Baking: Blueberry Crumb Bars


While at Golden Harvest the other day, I couldn't resist picking up a quart of Michigan-grown blueberries, even though I already had a pint of blueberries in the fridge. I knew I wanted to make some sort of baked good with them -- but I also wanted to stray away from the typical blueberry coffee cake that I always make. A quick search on Smitten Kitchen (one of my favorite blogs), and I had my recipe to try. I made a few small alterations to the recipe (originally from AllRecipes), and the resulting crumb bars are full of blueberry-goodness with just the right amount of sweetness and savory cinnamon flavor. Now I just need to resist the urge to eat the entire panful in one sitting...

Blueberry Crumb Bars (printer-friendly version)
about 36 small bars

For the fruit filling:
1 quart blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

For the dough:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
zest from one lemon
1 cup (two sticks/16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13"x9" baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and flour.
4. Mix in the lemon zest.
5. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Add in the egg and also blend in with the pastry cutter. Dough will be crumbly.
6. Pat half of the dough into the prepped baking dish. Top with the blueberry filling. Sprinkle the remaining dough crumbles over top of the blueberry layer.
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the top of the crumble is just beginning to brown. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill. These crumb bars are easier to cut after they have been chilled.

(adapted from this Smitten Kitchen recipe)

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What I'm Snacking On: Curry Popcorn


After eating a big ice cream treat late in the afternoon, I wasn't in the mood for a full dinner, and instead opted to make up a batch of popcorn while we watched a movie (Midnight in Paris) in the evening. Instead of the normal salt seasoning I add to our air-popped popcorn, I decided to go a bit more savory and spicy route, and made up a batch of curry popcorn. Pretty delicious -- the only downside was that a few of my fingernails are stained yellow from the turmeric! But that's a price I'm willing to pay for a tasty and healthy treat. : )

Curry Popcorn (printer-friendly version)
makes about two servings

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
1 tablespoon clarified butter
2 teaspoons curry seasoning (see below)

1. Pop the popcorn using whatever method you prefer. I like to go the oil-less air-popper route.
2. Place the popped popcorn in a large bowl.
3. Pour the clarified butter over the popcorn and toss to cover evenly.
4. Add the curry seasoning (use more or less depending on your tastebuds) and toss to coat.
5. Eat up!

Curry Seasoning
makes about two tablespoons

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
4 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Carefully pour the seasoning into a shaker.
3. Season your popcorn to taste.
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Weekend Shenanigans: Another Trip to Briq's



Whew -- what a weekend! Saturday we had a bit of a sleep-in, then headed into town to run a few errands and grab some groceries. I picked up some of the final ingredients necessary to get my bake on (posts coming later this week!) and I also picked up some much-needed cleaning supplies to get our house into sparkling shape (still a work in progress). Later in the afternoon D and I went for a little paddle in the lake -- D and Leroy went for a little canoe ride, while I tried my hand at kayaking. (Our generous landlords offered us use of their boats while they're out of town.) I could definitely get used to lake living -- although I could do without the late-night firework shows!

After watching the Wimbledon men's final Sunday morning, D and I got Leroy strapped into the car and after a quick stop for coffee and a blueberry muffin at the Crimson Cafe, we headed out of town to explore a few potential properties. We finished the day with an (over)indulgent stop at Briq's, where we each got a Thin Mint flurry. Yikes -- there were a lot of (delicious) cookie bits (and whole cookies) in that treat, pictured above. Long story short, I definitely made sure I hit up the 6a spin class at the Y this morning.
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What's For Dinner: Friday Night Fish Fry


We wouldn't be true Wisconsinites if we didn't hit up a Friday Night Fish Fry for dinner. This week we headed down the street to Henkel's Town Pump. Truth be told, both D and I opted for the "broil" over the pan-fried fish. The meal was pretty tasty -- the fish was nicely seasoned and I made quick work of my cole slaw (which I'm usually not a fan of) and fry bread (aaack -- so unhealthy, and yet so delicious), but didn't quite make my way through all the french fries. The fish portion was quite generous; I brought home what would be the equivalent of at least two more servings for me. Once back at home, D and I jumped in the lake (as did Leroy, too; he's becoming quite the little swimmer!) and I swam a couple laps between our dock and the neighbor's dock to work off a little bit of my meal. Not too shabby for a Friday evening Up North!
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What I'm Going to Make If the Heat Ever Dies Down

Tonight, we headed to Culver's yet again. Somehow I was able to stay away from my favorite Team Scoopie meal (grilled cheese, fries, small root beer, and coupon for a free scoop of frozen custard; I am definitely not above getting the kid's meal), and ordered a salad instead. So, yeah, it's still quite hot here, but it looks like tomorrow may be the last of it for at least the next week, as the weather forecast has temps dipping back down to highs in the upper 70s. Those are temperatures that I can deal with. I'm not such a fan of hot temperatures that make the inside of our house reach 85+ degrees.

Meanwhile, I've been eyeing a number of different recipes that I've been dying to give a whirl. Here are my top contenders at the moment:


Lemon poppy seed muffins from Joy the Baker / Homemade maraschino cherries from Serious Eats / Lemon blueberry poppyseed muffins from Joy the Baker / Homemade graham crackers from Smitten Kitchen / Homemade marshmallows also from Smitten Kitchen / Blueberry crumb bars from Smitten Kitchen (clearly I love her site)

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What We're Celebrating: The Fourth of July

D and I decided to embrace small-town living this morning and headed downtown to catch the hometown 4th of July parade. Leroy got into the spirit with a red neckerchief. 


{start of the parade]

 {Rhinelander Marching Hodags}

After watching the parade, we headed to Culver's (which is becoming an all-too-often event, I fear), grabbed a couple milkshakes, and headed for a drive around the area to check out properties and homes for sale. Anything to avoid sitting around in our as-hot-as-it-is-outside-if-not-warmer house!

Back at home later in the afternoon, we got dinner started. D was on burger duty (we picked up some ground beef at Golden Harvest made from locally-raised grass-fed cattle) and I made a side of red boiled potatoes. Dessert consisted of another round of strawberry-lime sorbet. The perfect cool accompaniment to a hot July day!


Boiled Red Potatoes
makes two servings

10 red potatoes, rinsed
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (or other seasoning of your choice)
freshly ground black pepper
fine sea salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Add the red potatoes. Boil for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Remove the potatoes from the water and pat dry.
4. Place the dried potatoes in a shallow dish. Add the butter and the Herbes de Provence to the potatoes. Gently toss to combine the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Serve immediately.

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What's On the Side: Boiled Red Potatoes



Boiled Red Potatoes (printer-friendly version)
makes two servings

10 red potatoes, rinsed
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (or other seasoning of your choice)
freshly ground black pepper
fine sea salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Add the red potatoes. Boil for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Remove the potatoes from the water and pat dry.
4. Place the dried potatoes in a shallow dish. Add the butter and the Herbes de Provence to the potatoes. Gently toss to combine the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Serve immediately.
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What I'm Eating: Dinner of Champions


It has been quite hot these past few days Up North, to the point that turning on the oven is just not going to happen. (Particularly since our little lake cottage lacks air conditioning.) So when dinner time rolled around tonight, D and I did the only logical thing -- we packed the dog in the car with us and headed downtown to Briq's for a little soft serve dinner. No oven to turn on, no dishes to clean -- that's my kind of dinner right there. Obviously, not the most nutritious choice, but definitely a fun hot-weather treat nonetheless.
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Scenes from the Weekend: Lake Living

This past weekend was rife with activity -- D remarked that it seemed like we had packed in a lot over the course of two days -- way more than we ever seemed to accomplish while living in Philly. It probably helps that we have a huge picture window in our bedroom and keep the blinds open -- meaning that these days we get up when the sun does -- bright and early. 

Our accomplishments this weekend included: emptying out more boxes and setting up my office space, running the Hodag Run for Your Life 10k (and eating a scoop of frozen custard at Culver's afterward...), running errands around town, picking up a few groceries at Golden Harvest (my new favorite store in town), swimming (and floating on a tube) in the lake, swim practice with Leroy, exploring Minocqua to the north, and enjoying the sunset from our dock. Good times all around! 

Here are a few photos from the weekend...

 {upcoming neighborhood festivities}

 {puppy swim practice}

{drying off in the sunshine}

{enjoying an iced hazelnut latte at Little Creek Coffee Company in Minocqua; not pictured, the two delicious donuts we picked up at Zippy's in Rhinelander}

 {considering some new home decor in Minocqua; Yeah, that's a 
taxidermied raccoon paddling a canoe...}

 {the more "economical" squirrel option}

 {enjoying the sunset from our dock}

{watching mama duck and her ducklings swim by}

{Leroy enjoying the view}
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